Wrench



' Oct. 19, 1937. R. c. WEISHAMPEL 2,096,016

WRENCH Filed April 13, 1936 J INVENTOR! %m;m,m w +c ball 7 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITED. STATES PATENT, oFFicE,

WRENCH Robert Chester Weishampel, Paterson, N. J. Application April 13,1936, Serial: No. 74,001

6 Claims.

. Thisinvention relates to wrenches of the type that may be referred toasv a. bolt wrench intended to cooperate with the head of a bolt or withthe nut thereon, usually hexagonal in form, although the features hereofare applicable to bolt parts in square or other form, or analogous uses.

An object of the invention is to afford a simple, compact and efficientwrench for the uses referredto, and more especially one which has theadvantages of a socket wrench and yet may be adaptable to a range ofsizes, as from to '7 inch or from A; to /2 inch. The disclosed wrenchisof the type having two handles, like those ofa pliers, which are drawntogether to cause the bolt "gripping jaws to approach, and it is anobject to provide a wrench comprising mechanism suchas to afford a quickclosing movement and a firm grip upon the bolt head or nut and yet theeasy ability to loosen the grip for the feeding of the wrench aroundfrom one to another position inthe operation of turning the bolt or nut.By the present invention these advantages are attained without the needof screw adjustments or springs. Other and further objects andadvantages of the invention will be pointed out in the hereinafterfollowing description of one or more embodiments thereof.

To the attainment of such objects and-advantag'es the inventionconsistsi'n'the novel wrench andthe novel features of combination, arrangementand structure herein illustrated or. de-

scribed.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 shows in .top or face view a wrenchembodying the present invention with the parts set in wide openposition, the left or jaw end being considered the outer end of thewrench; and Fig. 1a is a partial view similar to Fig. 1, showing amodification of structure.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing thew renchclosed upon-anut.

. Fig; 3 is a side elevation of the closed wrench.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detached views of the three main elements ormembers of the wrench.

Fig. 7 is a partial top or face view of a modified structure.

The wrench comprises principally three rela tively movable members; andthese may bedesignat'ed as a first handle member or body A, a slidemember or block B and a second handle member .orrswinging lever C, witha pivot pin connecting all, three members. v

The first handle A and the slide B are each formed with a longitudinal,-and preferably inclined, slot engaged by thepivot pin extending fromthesecond handle C; The three members thereby are interconnected butmutually rela-' tively longitudinally slidable, the second handle atthe: same timebeing swingable about its pivot or pin relatively to thefirst handle and slide. The slide B carrying the inner jaw is movedoutward toward the. other jaw by two cooperating means as follows. Thetwo handle members A and C are providedwith acam or analogous devicebetween them, such that the swinging approach of the handles causes anoutward thrust of the second handle member relatively to the first; this:ofcourse moving the pivot pin outwardly. Also, the secondrhandle memberC and '15 the "slideB are provided with an intermediate cam or devicesuch that said swinging movement of the second handle causes an outwardthrust of the slide relatively to the pivot pin and second handle. Withthis double acting closing movement the approach of the handles causes.the approach of the jaws and the forcible gripping of the bolt head ornut between the jaws. The cams or devices are such as to afford a quickclosing movement becoming more powerful as the nut is gripped.

Describing next the separate members, the body or lower handle member Ahas its handle extension A at its inner or right end, and at its outerend it carries the first or outer jaw A shown as an upstandingprojection formed twosided to engage two sides of .a hexagon boltpart D.The shank part A has a hole A formed near the jaw ample in size toaccommodate freely a bolt extending beyond the nut to be operated bythewrench. Also the shank has a slot A in which the fulcrum pin C mayplay, and this slot may be somewhat slanted so that the fulcrum shiftslaterallywhen moved longitudinally. Bebetween the slot and handle themember A has a cam A shown as ashouldercurved to cooperate with acomplementary cam C on the second handle member or lever.

The'slideor block '3 has flanges B fitting it to shift longitudinallyalong the shank A without swinging, and it carries the inner jaw Bupstanding from the slide and facing the outer jaw A so that the outwardsliding of block B closes the jaws. The slide B has a slot Baccommodating the pivot pin and this may be slanted oppositely to slotAof member A. The slide B may retract substantially into contactwith camA when the Wrench is wide open, as seen in Fig. 1, and its nearinner'corner B is'rounded away to admit the cam C to be describedbetween the slide and pulled toward handle A to gripthe bolt.

cam A The slide near its outer end may have a cam surface B to cooperatewith a cam C on the member C. The cam B may be the inner side of theprojection constituting the jaw B The second handle member C is the jawoperating lever of the wrench, its handle end C being The member C hasthe pin or stud C forming a pivot or fulcrum, and this may be attachedrigidly on the member, projecting through the slots A and B and thereheaded, as over a washer, or it may be a pin inserted in a hole inmember C and riveted or otherwise enlarged at both ends.

The second handle or lever C has a cam or shoulder C cooperating withcam A These two cams constitute an intermediate device such that theswinging together of the handles causes outward thrust of the secondhandle relatively to the first. The cam C enters between slide B andcamA and its motion forces the pivot C to move outwardly, toward thejaws.

The second handle has also a cam or surface 0* cooperating with the camB of the slide B. These constitute an intermediate device such that theswing of handle C toward handle A causes the cam C to thrust outwardlythe slide and its jaw. 1 Both of the described thrusts afi'ord powerfulgrip, due to the character of the cams, and the two cooperate to afforda quick closing of the jaws upon the bolt head or nut D, the powerincreasing as the 'bolt is engaged and. gripped. By then squeezingtogether the handles and swinging the wrench bodily the bolt head or nutis turned as desired. 'By slacking the handle pressure the wrench isreadily fed or swung idly around to the extent of 60 or 120 to take agrip at a new position on the bolt. Both the idle and the activemovements are conveniently and quickly performed without danger ofmarring or burring the bolt head or nut. The extent of each feedmovement will depend on the shape of the nut. With a square nut it mayshift at each movement; with a hexagon 60 or with an octagon 45, 90 etc.

The upstanding projections or jaws A B when active constitute in effecta socket, and the wrench is operable as a socket wrench, engaging fourfaces on the nut. These jaws project, from members A and B at rightangles to the plane of swing of the handles. The hole A between the jawsallows engagement over a bolt shank as with a fiat wrench, but a ledge A'of metal between the hole and jaw is provided.

The wrench may be supplemented to afford a monkey wrench engagement witha nut, as by extension lugs or jaws A" and B on the members A and Brespectively as indicated in Fig. 10:. No screw is necessary foradjustment as the wrench readily takes care of a range of sizes, as A to/2 inch or to 1 inch; and for convenience a series of the wrencheshereof may be kept at hand each for a different range of sizes.

The Wedging or thrusting device consisting of the cooperating cams A Cor B C may be replaced by an equivalent device afiording a similarthrust. For example as shownin Fig; 7 a short link C is'arranged betweenmembers A and C at such slant that as the handles are drawn together themember C'and pivot C are thrust outwardly bytoggle action. 'Part of thehandle C and the link C indeed constitute a toggle, the action" of whichin beingstraightened is a first quick movement of closing the jawstoward the nut, and then a powerful pressure. As already stated thecam-pairs A C and B C are of such curvatures, for example as shown, asto afford the quick first movement and the powerful grip.

The slant of the slots A B has the effect of causing the pivot pin andsecond handle to shift sideways when closing the wrench, thus modifyingthe actions of the cam pairs, and permitting increased grippingpressure. However, the slots might be curved to determine any desiredaction, or longitudinally straight, with proper redesign of the campairs. Fig. 7 shows straight slots in members A and B.

In all embodiments the double action or compound motion takes place, asmay be redescribed as follows. When handle C is swung closed the deviceA C or C acts to thrust member A relatively inward, or to the right inthe drawing. The same motion at the same time thrusts member B outward,to the left. By thus pushing apart in opposite directions the handleswing forces toward each other the two jaws. A and B .Anotherfeatureshould be mentioned, namely thatthe base wall of the shank A of thefirst handle member provides a narrow ledge A between the hole A and thejaw A The hole A may be of pear shape since with a smaller nut the boltwill be smaller and closer to the jaw A the small end of the pear shapehole accommodating the smaller bolts; Even with the smallest boltshowever the ledge A serves the purpose of resting upon the bolt duringthe operation of the wrench, so that the wrench will not drop off theunit or out of position. The wrench will usually be used in a positioninverted as compared to Fig. 3 and as. the wrench works the nut and isratcheted back for each new grip, the ledge A prevents it from slippingoff and holds it in proper relation. to the nut being turned.

.There has thus been described a wrench available for bolt heads or nutswhich embodies the principles of the present invention and attains thedescribed advantages. Since many matters of combination, arrangement andstructure may be variously modified without departing from theprinciples of the invention it is not intended to limit the invention tosuch matters except to the extent set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bolt wrench having a first handle member carrying an outer jaw anda slide member slidable endwise on the first handle member and carryingan inner jaw and a second handle member swingable relatively to thefirst to close and open the wrench; and characterized as follows: thesecond handle member having a pivot pin engaging longitudinal slots inthe first handle and slide members thereby connecting the three memberswhile permitting longitudinal movements of each relatively to the othersand swinging of the second handle member, the two handle members havingbetween them an intermediate device causing outward endwise thrust ofthe second handle member accompanying its swinging approach to thefirst, and the second handle member and slide having between them anintermediate device causing outward thrust of the slide accompanying theswinging approach of the second handle member, whereby swinginglyclosing the two handle members causes the jaws to close upon the bolthead or nut. a

2. A wrench as in claim 1 and wherein the first intermediate thrustingdevice consists of cooperating cam shoulders on the two membersaffording awedging action.

3. A wrench as in claim-1 and wherein the second intermediate thrustingdevice consists of cooperating cam shoulders on the two membersaffording a wedging action.

4. A wrench as in claim 1 and wherein each intermediate thrusting deviceconsists of cooperating cam shoulders on the two members affording a'Wedging action, and these are designed to cause a quick closingfollowed by a powerful grip upon the bolt.

5. A wrench as in claim 1 and wherein the longitudinal slots in thefirst handle and slide members are oppositely inclined thereby to give atransverse movement to the pivot pin during closing and thus modify theaction of the second intermediate thrusting device.

6. A bolt wrench having a first handle member carrying an outer jaw anda slide member slidable endwise on the first handle member and carryingan inner jaw and a second handle member swing' able relatively to thefirst to close and open the Wrench; and characterized as follows: one ofsaid. three members carrying rigidly a pivot pin engaging longitudinalslots in the other two members thereby connecting the three memberswhile permitting longitudinal movements of each relatively to the othersand swinging of the second handle member, the two handle members havingbetween them an intermediate device causing outward endwise thrust ofthe second handle member'accompanying its swinging approach to thefirst, and the second handle member and slide having between them anintermediate device causing outward thrust of the slide accompanying theswinging approach of the second handle member, whereby swinginglyclosing the two handle members causes the jaws to close upon the bolthead or nut.

ROBERT CHESTER WEISHAMPEL.

